Woman Accused Of Drunk Driving With Unbuckled Toddler In Back Seat

A Boynton Beach, Florida woman is facing child abuse and DUI charges after a tow truck driver spotted her weaving all over the road.

“I was afraid she was going to kill someone,” said Juan Martinez in a statement to detectives with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Martinez said to deputies that he saw a woman at the wheel of a gold Chevrolet Malibu, driving all over the place down Haverhill Boulevard near Belvedere Road on Saturday afternoon. He said that she almost hit four cars and looked drunk or under the influence of something. According to the arrest report, he also saw a child in the back seat of the vehicle.

A responding deputy pulled over the driver, who has been identified as 31-year-old Brandy Lerma.

The deputy said a strong smell of alcohol emanated from Lerma’s car, and that she had slurred speech and couldn’t find her driver’s license, despite it being in plain view of the deputy.

Authorities also noted an unrestrained 3-year-old child standing in the back seat.

A DUI team responded to give Lerma a roadside test and according to the arrest report, she fell twice during the tests.

Lerma took two breath tests and the results registered a blood alcohol content of .200 and .187. The legal limit in Florida is .08.

The woman said to deputies at the scene that she took Percocet, Xanax, and drank two fireballs.